EDF Energy readies Ovivo for contract signing subject to final investment decision on Hinkley Point C

EDF Energy is today announcing Ovivo as preferred bidder in a contract worth over £10m as it prepares to make a final investment decision for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.

The contract will help secure jobs in the UK and provide a boost to the UK’s manufacturing sector.

Ovivo, a world-leading company in water treatment and waste water, has been awarded preferred bidder status for a contract to supply intake water filtration systems at the site. The equipment will be manufactured in the UK and engineered from Ovivo’s facilities in Colchester and Wolverhampton.

Last week it was announced that two preferred bidder contracts worth over £100m had been awarded to Rolls Royce and a Rolls Royce/Nuvia partnership.This followed the announcement in July of more preferred bidders to the Hinkley Point C project in contracts worth a total of more than £1.5billion.

In October 2013 EDF Energy announced the four main preferred bidders for engineering and construction:

It is now estimated that contracts worth more than 60% of the construction cost for Hinkley Point C will be placed with UK firms, against an initial estimate of 57%.

EDF Energy and suppliers have been working together to create a supply chain ready to build the proposed power station, which will restart new nuclear construction in Britain after a 20 year pause. Any contract signings are subject to a final investment decision.

The proposed power station will provide reliable, low carbon electricity to meet 7% of UK demand. It will provide 25,000 employment opportunities on-site during its construction, including 1,000 apprenticeships.

Ken Owen, Hinkley Point C Commercial Director, said: “Hinkley Point C will be built by world-leading experts in the manufacturing and construction sectors and as such we are pleased to welcome Ovivo to the HPC industrial partnership. Together, our suppliers and partners will take us on an industrial and human adventure which ultimately will help the UK meet its future need for reliable low carbon electricity.”

Marc Barbeau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ovivo, said: “We are delighted to be selected by EDF Energy as their preferred partner for the seawater filtration system at the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. Through Ovivo’s heritage brand Brackett Green®, we have a long association with the United Kingdom’s nuclear power plant industry and we are proud to be given this opportunity to contribute in the building of the next generation of nuclear plants in the United Kingdom.”

All parties are working so that a final investment decision can be taken at Hinkley Point C as soon as possible.

Notes to editors

Picture caption:One of four 27m diameter drum screens used for the filtration of a total of around 140 tonnes /second of water, forming part of the Hinkley Point C cooling water intake system

EDF Energy in the South West

In the South West EDF Energy employs around 4,000 people across three key sites; at Hinkley Point in Somerset, at Barnwood, near Gloucester, and at Exeter. We operate Hinkley Point B power station, which employs around 550 staff and 220 contract partners. A new nuclear power station, capable of supplying around 5 million homes, is planned at Hinkley Point, subject to a final investment decision. We have an operational support centre at Barnwood, while Exeter is home to one of EDF Energy’s three UK-based call centres. As well as currently generating enough power for some 1.5 million homes in this region, EDF Energy also provides gas and electricity to 610,000 customers with over 20% of those opting for one of the company’s Blue+ products backed by low-carbon generation. We make sure we buy enough electricity generated from a low-carbon nuclear source to match every unit of electricity we estimate our Blue customers use. EDF Energy is proud to power some of the largest companies in the UK, including sites for the Ministry of Defence, Tesco Stores Limited, Morrisons and Everything Everywhere, right here in the South West.